RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Wood County >> Mineral Wells >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Mineral Wells, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mineral Wells and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Mineral Wells:
    • 39.178653, -81.514108
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Mineral Wells
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Wood County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wood County
    • Since Mineral Wells is near Wirt County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wirt County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Mineral Wells

Communities Also Named Mineral Wells ...

We found two communities that are also named Mineral Wells.

Within West Virginia, the name Mineral Wells is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Mississippi
      • DeSoto County
      • This Mineral Wells is located in DeSoto County and lies 543 miles [873.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Mineral Wells that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeSoto County community of Mineral Wells.
    • Texas
      • Palo Pinto County
      • This Mineral Wells is located in Palo Pinto County and lies 1,022 miles [1,644.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Mineral Wells that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Palo Pinto County community of Mineral Wells.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mineral Wells ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Cedar Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Cool Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cool Springs is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Springs
  • Creels
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Creels is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creels
  • Fountain Spring
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fountain Spring is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Spring
  • Hillcrest
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hillcrest is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Kingbury ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingbury is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingbury
  • Leachtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Lucky ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Lucky is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
  • Murphytown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Murphytown is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphytown
  • Pettyville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pettyville is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettyville
  • Pleasant Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Hill is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Pleasant View
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Red Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Red Hill is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Slate
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)

How Far From Mineral Wells to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Mineral Wells to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mineral Wells and extending to:

  • Parkersburg, which is the Seat of Wood County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 57 miles [91.7 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Mineral Wells to Charleston, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 240 miles [386.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,071 miles [9,770.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,788 miles [10,924.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,663 miles [7,504.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mineral Wells) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<3>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Mineral Wells to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mineral Wells. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1787, Longitude: -81.5141    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.57 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.531 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.541 degrees.